Recovery bets lift British stocks as miners, oil stocks jump By Reuters

(Reuters) – British shares rebounded on Monday, led by energy and mining stocks, as hopes of a vaccine-led economic recovery and more U.S. stimulus overshadowed fears of rising inflation and tightening monetary policy.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index climbed 1.4% by 0804 GMT, with mining stocks including Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Anglo American (LON:AAL) and BHP gaining between 2.1% and 3.1%.

Oil heavyweights BP (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) also provided the biggest boost, with gains of 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively. [O/R]

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 1.3%. Britain’s factory activity data for the month of February is due at 0930 GMT.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Plc rose 1.1% after a report said the company had sold its 7.7% stake in Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) Inc for more than $1 billion.

Ladbrokes (LON:LCL) owner Entain rose 1.7% as it raised its offer for rival sports betting firm Enlabs AB, valuing the Sweden-based company at about 3.7 billion crowns ($440.16 million).